Secretary of state race, US House seats on Louisiana ballot

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana has one statewide position on the ballot Tuesday, a special election to fill a secretary of state seat vacated because of a sexual harassment scandal, but the crowded primary competition has lacked the attention-grabbing nature of other states' races around the country.

Beyond filling the election chief's job, Louisiana voters were deciding whether to return six U.S. House incumbents to Washington for another term and whether to rewrite six provisions in the state constitution. One constitutional amendment has attracted intense support across the political spectrum, to require unanimous jury verdicts for all felony convictions.

Runoff elections, as needed, will be Dec. 8.

SECRETARY OF STATE

The competition to be Louisiana's next secretary of state is jam-packed, with nine candidates jockeying to complete the remaining year of the term of Republican Tom Schedler, who resigned in May amid allegations he sexually harassed an employee.

Louisiana's secretary of state oversees elections, state archives and business registrations.

Schedler's top aide, Republican Kyle Ardoin of Baton Rouge, is working in the interim position. While he repeatedly said he wouldn't run, Ardoin announced in the final minutes of the candidate sign-up period that he changed his mind and would be on the ballot.

Other Republicans seeking the position include Turkey Creek Mayor Heather Cloud, former state Sen. A.G. Crowe of Pearl River, state Rep. Rick Edmonds of Baton Rouge, and state Rep. Julie Stokes of Kenner. Democrats in the race include Gwen Collins-Greenup, a lawyer and notary from Clinton, and Renee Fontenot Free, a former first assistant to two prior secretaries of state who most recently worked for the attorney general.

Only a few contenders have raised enough money — or loaned their campaigns enough cash — to reach out to voters via TV and radio. Many of the candidates have focused on low-expense efforts, traveling the state to speak at small forums, luncheons, parades and other events.

U.S. HOUSE SEATS

All six of Louisiana's incumbent congressmen have drawn opponents: Republicans Steve Scalise in the 1st District, Clay Higgins in the 3rd District, Mike Johnson in the 4th District, Ralph Abraham in the 5th District, and Garret Graves in the 6th District and Democrat Cedric Richmond in the 2nd District.

Many of their opponents, however, significantly lag in the financing to mount the sort of advertising and outreach effort often needed to oust a sitting member of Congress.

If Scalise and Richmond win re-election as expected, both men are positioned for continued high-profile leadership roles, depending on which party controls the House in the upcoming term. Scalise is the House's third-ranking Republican and is expected to advance higher if Republicans control the House. Richmond is chairman of the influential Congressional Black Caucus and could move into an even more prominent position if Democrats take the House.

In his first term in office, Higgins drew the most challengers, with six contenders trying to oust him from the district representing southwest and south central Louisiana. He's also the only Louisiana congressman to face an intra-party fight.

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

There are six proposals to change the Louisiana Constitution.

Amendment 1 would make convicted state felons wait five years after serving their sentences before they can run for office in Louisiana, unless they are pardoned.

Amendment 2 would end a Jim Crow-era law that allows split juries to convict people of serious felony crimes. Louisiana is one of two states that permit non-unanimous verdicts in felony cases. The proposal would require all felony jury verdicts to be unanimous to convict.

Amendment 3 would authorize local government agencies to share equipment and staff for a specific activity if they have a written agreement, without any compensation needing to be exchanged.

Amendment 4 would prohibit use of money from Louisiana's Transportation Trust Fund, which contains state gasoline and fuel tax income, to pay for state police operations. Instead, the money could only be spent on road, bridge, port and airport work.

Amendment 5 would extend Louisiana's special property tax assessments for the elderly, disabled veterans and surviving spouses of people in the military, law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical technicians who die in the line of duty to homes placed in a trust.

Amendment 6 would require a four-year phase-in of higher property taxes when a tax assessor's reappraisal boosts a home's value by more than 50 percent. The change wouldn't apply if the home is sold or its value was bumped up by construction or upgrades.

FANTASY SPORTS

Voters will decide on a parish-by-parish basis whether to legalize cash-league fantasy sports contests through online sites such as DraftKings and FanDuel.

With fantasy sports websites, people can create imaginary teams of real-life sports players and score points based on how those players perform in actual games. The sites charge an entry fee and offer payouts to winners.

Louisiana is one of nine states that don't allow online fantasy sports betting. Though the games only will be permitted in parishes where voters authorize it, anybody will be able to log into the fantasy sports sites if they travel to those parishes.